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Have you ever been for a ride longer than about 30 minutes and noticed a ringing in your ears afterwards? Or perhaps muffled hearing after a long ride? I know I have, especially after following a friend’s KTM with aftermarket exhaust! These are all signs of temporary hearing damage which may become permanent unless your ears are protected while riding.

The University of Southampton has conducted research into these effects and has published a paper which may be accessed at the link below. Essentially they found that noise can reach 116 db(A) at 195 kph. The noise generated by wind is also higher than the noise from the motorcycle as speed exceeds 60 or 70 kph. They also found that windscreen height and angle impact wind noise. Continue reading →

The last day of our stay in Argentina was to be a day of sightseeing in Bariloche. We had decided to do a ferry tour of the Hauel Nuapi lake which was set at about 785m above sea level in the Andes of northern Patagonia.

Neil had some business to attend to and so decided to do his own thing after he dropped us off at the ferry some 20 km outside of Bariloche.

After a stop in the Bosque de Arranye we moved on to Isla Victoria where we were dropped for four hours. The idea was to have a lunch break and to relax on the beach for a while.

Woke around 7:45am after a good sleep in this Andean resort town. The cool air had helped the sleep but the noisy Main Street hotel had not. Neil and Gus had planned a trip fishing on one of the local rivers while Therese of us would do our own thing.

Mike decided to hire a bike and head for the mountains.

Meyer chose to take a drive around the peninsula and I chose to do some sightseeing in town and them do the same circular route that Meyer had followed.

When the fishermen returned we heard all sorts of stories about the ones that got away. It was only when we saw the pictures that we know that they had had a great day.

For supper we tried one of Bariloche’s famous grills and had positively the largest steak ever. After a quick stroll around town it was time for bed.

We had to meet one of Claudia’s colleagues at customs at 9:30am so it was a later start than normal. After a quick breakfast we headed down to customs with all of the necessary paperwork. Patricia joined us there a short while later and we took up our position in the short queue in the positive expectation that this was a mere formality and that we could pack our bikes before lunch and enjoy a free day in Buenos Aires.

The minutes ticked by. And then the hours. As the clock approached 12:30 we started becoming concerned that we would have time to pack the bikes at all today. We regularly tried to learn from Patricia what could be causing the delay. Her poor English and our poor Spanish meant that we never found out. But she must have worked some magic as we were called in individually to sign our documents shortly after 12:30. By 1 pm we were in possession of the final papers and were authorized to take the bikes to the port for loading into the container.

In customs with Patricia

Then it was back to the hotel for a final packing of our kit. Tents, dirty clothes and riding suits stained with the evidence of all of the bugs and butterflies that we had massacred in hile and Argentina were all stuffed into the large bags.

The temperature was somewhat higher than the previous day and so it was a relief to be able to ride the short distance from our hotel to the port in shorts and T-shirts. Again we needed a txi to carry the large bags of kit to the port. The traffic was crazy and the taxi driver was not sure as to the directions but, with the help of the local policia we made it to the port by 2:00pm.

They warehouse didn’t seem ready for us and so,it took around 30 minutes to actually wheel the bikes into the warehouse and out of the bearing sun. The day was hot and muggy and there was no air movement to cool us down once we arrived. As soon as they had figured out what was going on (with another call to the ever helpful Claudia) we were able to wheel the bikes into the shade although the temperature inside the warehouse seemed hooter than outside in the sunshine. No sooner were we inside the warehouse than the heavens opened for a short sharp shower. Thankfully we were not riding at the time. The rain only seemed to add to the humidity without cooling the ambient temperature at all.

We managed to find a taxi in the seedy port suburb of La Boca and we piled in headed for Avenida Florida where some of the guys needed to exchange currency. Mike and I didn’t want to do any shopping but had missed lunch and so found a small restaurant nearby and enjoyed a late lunch. Then it was on to the hotel to wait for the return of the others.

Around 8pm we all headed out to the Palermo Soho area to find a restaurant at Plaza Serrano on what would be our last evening in Buenos Aires. The evening was still hot and muggy and the guys were tired. After a nice meal mike, Meyer and I returned to the hotel ready for a good sleep, comforted in the thought that our trusty machines were in the custody of customs and ready for their return trip home early in February.

What we have found on this trip is that communications can be a challenge. While many places offer wi-fi it is often too slow to use as a means of staying up to date on the blog. Roaming data charges from Vodacom are too high and local cell companies have data packages but are very slow. Also, signals in remote areas are flaky and fluently don’t include data. As a result we have had to rely on hotels or coffee shops.

So, if we are a little behind in the news or are not responding to comments, please be patient. We will do our best to update these as soon as we can.

Our flight to Bariloche was only scheduled for late afternoon and so we had a morning free.

Mike, Meyer and I decided that it would be a good time to do the BA city tour and so headed down to the ticket office. It was a very hot day and difficult to choose between sitting downstairs in the cool comfort of air conditioning or upstairs in the open air where visibility would be better.

Traffic was heavy and so we decided that it would be best to,cut the tour short as we had to meet at the hotel before flying out to San Carlos de Bariloche where we planned to spend the last two days of our Argentinian trip.

Meyer and I shared a room during this stop and around 6:00am his alarm sounded. It had been a good sleep but I awoke to a bright sunny day. This was to be the last day of riding and we only had 300km to do today.

We packed and went to breakfast around 6:30am. The room was empty except for the hotel staff setting things out. Meyer had not taken the change in time zone into account and we were a little early for the planned departure. Gus stumbled through looking for some early morning coffee to take back to bed. We chatted briefly and then decided that we would go on ahead as we were already packed and set for the road. Gus returned to his room with a cup of the best as we finished our breakfast and checked out of the hotel.

The temperature was a moderate 24 degC as we started the bikes and hit the road around 7:30am. At the first traffic circle I hailed Meyer to stop. Our GPS units were showing different routes and I wanted to clarify the route he had chosen. As he was the leader and as the map seemed to indicate that his route was valid I followed him. It soon became clear that his unit had chosen a secondary road that was slightly longer than the direct route that mine had chosen.

Either way it was a great morning to ride as the farm lands stretched out to the left and right of our road. We passed and were passed by a number of farm trucks of different shapes and sizes. Some were carrying crops or implements while others carried only the farmer on his way to start a days’ work.

The ride was easy going and Meyer maintained a speed of 100kph for gear of a recurrence of the misfire he had been experiencing on the trip.

We passed through a number of smaller towns as the morning passed and occasionally picked up the smells of the farmlands as we passed by. The air remained cool and the pace easy. Around 120 km form Buenos Aires Meyer noticed that he needed more fuel and so put in just a few liters to ensure sufficient range but not so much as to leave fuel in the tanks for the return shipping of the bikes. We also took the opportunity to stop at a street vendor who was selling her wares from a roadside caravan. She seemed to be a farmers wife and was selling an assortment of salami and cheeses. She was very friendly encouraging us to taste her wares and trying to communicate despite the language barrier. Good marketing! We acquired some of her salami and Meyer even managed to have his knife sharpened before we took to the road again.

As we approached the outskirts of Buenos Aires there was a noticeable increase in traffic sometimes forcing us to slow our pace considerably. Eventually our route joined the more direct route and we started on the final freeway stretch into BA. We stopped to pay twice in the last 50km which was in stark contrast to our journey across Argentina from Mendoza where all motorcycles were allowed to pass without the payment of tolls.

The hustle and bustle of the freeway was also in stark contrast to the riding of the past 10 days. There seemed to be something frenetic about riding in BA as cars, trucks and motorcycles all seemed to jostle for every available inch of tarmac in their efforts to reach their destinations early. The loss of a mirror made it more difficult for Meyer in the traffic and we were careful. We didn’t want to end a great trip with and incident.

We reached the hotel around 11am and soon unpacked, checked in and showered in the familiar rooms of the Olmo Dorado Hotel in downtown BA. The other arrived about an hour later and we immediately made plans to start the process of preparing the papers needed to re-export our bikes to SA.

We found a restaurant for lunch near to the offices of the clearing agents and were present in their offices at the appointed of 2:00pm. After signing a few papers we arranged to be at customs at 9:30am the following day. Claudia from Geodis had been very helpful in all of our dealings with customs. The rest of the afternoon was reserved for a little shopping and R&R in BA.

After freshening up at the hotel we went looking for a restaurant in the Plaza Serrano area of Palermo Soho. We found a delightful street cafe and ordered some refreshments in the cool evening air. There was a real energy about the square as young people came and went. Street buskers entertained us with their music while vendors tried to interest us in Panama hats, sunglasses or scarves.

It was clear that our clocks were out of sync with the natives of BA who only started looking for a restaurant after 10pm and were quite happy to dine and chat until the early hours of the morning. Around 11:30pm I decided it was time for a sleep and headed home to catch up with this blog before turning in for the evening. My eyes thought otherwise and the blog would have to wait for another day.

With Meyers bike playing up he decided to make an extra early start and set off just before 6:0am. As breakfast would only be served from 6:30am we decided on a 7:00am start. The plan was to catch up with Meyer on the road.

After breakfast we set off on the longest single stretch of our tour. This would be 780km and probably some 12 hours in the saddle. We had agreed to increase the speed a little as we had much ground to cover. The road was good and the skies were clear. The air was cool and the temperature around 24degC for the first stint. We moved along briskly and noticed that our fuel consumption was higher than expected due to our increased speed. Due to our little sojourn to San Martin my bike had less fuel than the other three and by San Luis I was starting to be concerned about the remaining range I had available to me. At 30 km before Merceda my fuel gauge indicated that I had run out of all fuel as well as the reserve. Thankfully the bike motored on but finally stopped at the outskirts to the small town. We took sufficient fuel from Neil’s bike to make it to the next station indicated on the GPS.

Our experience is that GPS is less than 100% reliable in South America and so it was no surprise to,find an empty lot where the fuel station had been indicated. After asking directions from a very pretty lady we located a station and filled all the bikes. Just as we were about to continue with our journey Mike’ s developed a problem with the centre stand. Putting a few heads together and also a few cable-ties together we fixed the problem and continued with our journey.

On two occasions we needed to stop for a construction stop/go section where the road was being repaired. The stops were short and well handled.

As the afternoon wore on so the winds picked up and the buffeting was quite fierce at times. This was more noticeable as the carriageway became a single lane in each direction requiring us to overtake a number of trucks as we approached Junin. About 150 km outside Junin we also noticed that the size of the farms seemed to increase. Now we were passing very large well-kept farms with a variety of crops but especially of maize and soy. Once again we were driving through a number of flying insects and our bikes and visors were covered in the mess caused by the little insects.

We had elected more cattle ranches and although we had seen some, we had definitely not seen as many as we had expected of Argentina.

It was difficult to remain comfortable in our saddles after such a long day and our bodies were beginning to feel the strain of the many hours on the road. The buffeting wore down the necks muscles and the wind noise were a strain on the ears. So it was a great pleasure to see Junin in the distance. Meyer had beaten us to Junin by about 90 minutes and had found us accommodation at the Piedra Mora hotel in Junin. It was an added bonus that the had space for our bikes to be parked around the back out of site of the passers by.

Once the bikes were unpacked it was time forma quick swim or shower depending on personal preference. The temperature at 6 pm was still over 33degC. Then it was time to catch up and share stories about our ride and our adventure in South America over a cold beer. This was our last evening on the road and we would be riding in to Buenos Aires tomorrow to conclude our trip.

We all slept well in the relatively confined surroundings of a small pine clad room containing three double bunks. We learned that there are both snorers and very light sleepers traveling in our group! Life was good.

After preparing for the day and packing the bikes we headed for some breakfast. The skies were blue and clear and we had a great days’ riding ahead. Full of anticipation for the sweeping curves of the pass headed down towards Mendoza we set off. We enjoyed truly beautiful scenery as we wound down the pass high in the Andes mountains. The jagged black rocks in stark contrast to the soft flowing waters of the Mendoza river cutting its way down to lower grounds.

About 10 km after starting out we came across one of the many police control points that we had encountered along our route. And now, for the first time on this trip, we were stopped. Meyer was in the lead and couldn’t quite make out what was being requested. Eventually the official went into his office and returned with a wad of papers. He pointed to these papers as an indication of the item that he was looking for. We recognized this as a slip of scrap paper that we had received from a Chilean official at the top of the pass. It had appeared an insignificant slip of paper containing only our registration numbers but during the course of events at passport control now contained four or five separate date stamps. Once relieved of these papers we were free to go – except that Gus could not find his slip. The was no convincing the official despite our best efforts. Gus had to return to get the required document. Despite this incident we can only report positively on all our observations of police in both Argentina and Chile. They seem to prefer a light touch and only get involved if there is bad or dangerous behaviour.

Mike and Neil decided to return to passport control with Gus while Meyer and I continued. We were keen to make progress before further incidents with Meyers bike. So we pushed on.

Once again we were treated to spectacular curving countryside and great roads. After stopping for a picture opportunity we continued and then arrived at a small town called Uspallata. It seemed to be the hub of a number of outdoor activities. As this was a Sunday there were a number of street markets and parillas along the side of the town streets. There were stalls selling locally produced wares and the entire town was set in greenery under tall poplar trees. The town is used as a starting point for mountain biking, horse riding hiking and kayaking. Presumably it is also used as a base for skiing during winter time.

The previous evening we had simply followed our headlights down the pass from passport control before finding our hosteria at Puente del Inca. Now, traveling up the pass in the daylight the other three missed the turn to passport control and continued to the mouth of the tunnel before realizing their error. However, this mistake had given them the opportunity to see and enjoy the spectacular road that we hadn’t noticed late the previous night. After stopping at a craft stall they turned and heeded back to passport control where the friendly officials only took a few minutes to rectify the problem and send them on their way again.

Meyer seemed to have his bike under control and so we pushed on towards Mendoza enjoying the sweeping curves. The rate of descent leveled off a little and we caught sight of a large dam to our left. About 70km from Mendoza we started picking spots of rain on our visors but it was never enough to make us properly wet. The traffic also increased a little as we got close to Mendoza. Around 30 km from Mendoza the rain stopped and the skies cleared. Now the temperature climbed again. On the outskirts of Mendoza we saw vineyards and orchard in between other farm crops.

Meyer felt that a brief ride to San Martin would be worthwhile so that we could check out the town which seemed to be set in a green area. Unfortunately the GPS was deceiving and the place was little more than a small run-down industrial area. We returned to Mendoza to await the arrival of the others.

Enjoying a cold Coke at a sidewalk cafe set under the tree-lined avenues of Mendoza was just what we needed to end a great ride.

The others arrived around 30 minutes later and shared their little adventure with us s me made plans for the evening. It would be a night in the local Sheraton and then a nice Biffe de Chorizo wi an early night.

Tomorrow was the long 780 km haul across central Argentina and we would need a fresh and early start.

Hampered by an ailing bike the previous day Mike and Neil were keen to do some serious Dakar spectating today. The set off soon after waking and planned on being at the special stage by 8:45am.

Meyer made another attempt at repairing his bike while Gus, Daniel and I packed up at a leisurely pace. Gus was really keen to make tuna with noodles for breakfast and was very keen to have us try his cuisine. Daniel decided it was time for him to hit the road and after our farewells, he took off, bound for Santiago.

Once packed, I helped Meyer a little but there wasn’t much to be done. Now Meyer was actually battling to start his bike and the battery condition was weakening. With this potential problem in mind we decided to go on ahead of the others while Daniel and Gus would wait for the other two to arrive.

Our route would take us south to within 100km of Santiago and then we would turn east to cross the Andes again. We had been warned that rockfalls had caused the road to be closed in one lane and the authorities had decided that it was best to have traffic flow between Argentina and Chile during daylight hours and between Chile and Argentina during the night time. We had to be at the start of the tunnel by 4:00pm to take our place in the queue for the tunnel opening at 8pm.

Once started, Meyer battled to get his bike to rev. By opening the manual choke I was able to get the bike to rev a little and so I suggested that Meyer make use of the manual choke when his bike threatened to stall. With this little trick up our sleeves we headed south down route 5.

It was a really festive atmosphere. Being a Saturday the route was lined with Chilean spectators wishing to catch a glimpse of their Dakar heroes. Each flyover carried more spectators and flags and it reminded me to some extent of the atmosphere along the route of the Cape Argus cycle tour. There was a strong police presence but they seemed content to,let the crowd simply enjoy the moment. As we travelled down the highway we were passed by a number of support vehicles and Dakar competitors in all of the different categories. The trucks were the scariest of all. These awesome vehicles came past at speed with their large knobby tyres making a loud noise on the smooth tar of the freeway.

As Meyer and I passed the crowds we were frequently waved at and given generous applause. I must believe that we were mistaken for competitors. However, it was good to wave back at the crowds and the atmosphere was cheerful and festive. Riding alongside some of the competitors also gave us the opportunity of capturing them on video with most riders and drivers quite happy to give a wave or thumbs up as they went past.

About 120km before Santiago we pulled into a service station to refuel. Not knowing where the next fuel stop would be we wanted to be prepared for a long haul. It was also a good time to stretch our legs. Once again we chatted to other riders who were following the Dakar and were pleased to wet riders from Argentina, Chile, Brazil and New Zealand. While we were stopped we also bumped into the Imperial Toyota team. Giniel de Villiers team mate, Duncan Voss, had been forced to withdraw on the second day. The team noticed our flag and chatted to us as they made their way to the finish, at least happy in the knowledge of having one of their cars on the podium.

Just 100km short of Santiago we left route 5 and turned east towards the Andes. The temperature shot up despite the fact that we were climbing. We rode through a number of very pretty small towns set in some beautiful countryside with well manicured equestrian ranches. The ranchers seemed to be affluent. The roadside was lined on either side with tall poplar trees and we also passed the odd vineyard in amongst the paddocks.

The road became steeper and more twisty as we progressed towards the tunnel and, with about 30km to go, we found a small fuel station and convenience store. Despite our bikes being fairly full, we took the opportunity to use up any remaining Chilean pesos on fuel and cold water. With the temperature near 40degC we kitted up and continued our journey. Just 5km further up the pass we came upon a queue of cars and that is where our journey went on pause. It was 3:30pm.

A local police car indicated that all vehicles should park as close to the right hand side of the road as possible. There were no trees to offer shade and the tarmac seemed to ooze heat. Fortunately a light breeze picked up later in the afternoon. Some of the drivers would remain in the air conditioned vehicles with their engines running. Other would get out and walk around chatting to others in the queue. I sat on the curb very grateful that I had remembered Meyers warning to bring a small travel umbrella for the harsh sun. At one point a young guy from Argentina came and introduced himself to me. Agustin was a student traveling with his family back from a vacation in Chile. We chatted for an hour or two about the trip, our families and his dreams of becoming a photographer. Thankfully his good English compensated for me poor Spanish and it was a real pleasure to meet him. This is surely one of the joys of motorcycling – the opportunity of meeting complete strangers while traveling around.

Meyer took the opportunity to re-tension his chain. Once done there was not much more to be done and so he lay on the roadway in the shade of his bike and waited. And we waited and waited. 4:30, 5:30, 6:30, 7:30 pm. At 8pm some of the people returned to their vehicles and started their engines. But this was false hope. Finally at 8:30pm, sun still shining, the line of vehicles began moving slowly forwards. Once again Meyers bike played up and it cut out once or twice causing us to lose our place in the queue. By the time we got to the toll booth all bikes were together again. We paid the toll and were about to move through when Meyers bike cu out completely. With a dead battery and a dead bike we had to move out of the way of the many vehicles impatient to get to the top of the pass. Thankfully Meyers bike has a kick-start lever installed. He used this to good effect as he built up a sweat trying to get his bike to work. Nothing doing. Then as he let out a loud curse word the bike fired and we were back in business. Using the choke once again to increase the revs we got going. By now more than 50 cars must have passed us and the sky had grown dark. We headed up the narrow twisty pass. I counted some 30 switch back turns as we wound our way up the steep single carriageway pass to the tunnel at around 3000m above sea level. Once on top we went through Chilean passport control which was nothing more than an official scribbling our registration number on a small scrap of paper and then handing the sheet to us with a direction to,continue on our way.

We continued on for a few kilometers when we reached Argentinian passport and customs. Here the vehicles were split into three queues and the busses into a fourth. The going was very slow and the air cool. We arrived at the control point around 10pm and it reminded me of the old days of waiting in the queue to purchase entry tickets to the local drive in cinema! Around 40 minutes later we found ourselves at the head of the queue and were directed into a large covered area. We pulled up next to a booth and presented our passports which were duly stamped.

Next we moved to customs. It was rather strange to us but the booth contained two customs officers, one from Chile and one from Argentina. When we crossed the San Francisco pass into Chile the customs personnel seemed to be in training possibly ahead of the Dakar caravan that was moving into the country the following day. The officer attending to me seemed very unsure of things and apparently never gave me an import paper needed for Chile. Now, on departure from that country I was caught short. The officer was addressing me in a raised voice and despite my protestations seemed to believe that I had received the papers. After a while, and on seeing that all of the others had the necessary papers, he waved me through. As I moved to the Argentinian side of the cubicle he took one last opportunity to moan at me again. I continued to smile and apologize to which he replied that all was okay(!?).

Argentinian customs took a little longer as the supervisor was the only person able to attend to us and he was on lunch as it was near midnight local time. We took the opportunity to find some confess and sandwiches from a local stall and then waited. By 1am we all had the necessary papers and were given the approval to enter Argentina.

As the road was dark and twisty with poor road markings we chose to stay at the first lodging we could find and not to press on through to Mendoza. We headed down into Argentina and within a few kilometers came upon the s,all village of Puente del Inca. On the roadside was a ski lodge and the keeper was still behind the counter at 1:15am. He confirmed that we could have a single room with three double bunks and a shower and within minutes the bikes were unpacked. Everyone was tired and it didn’t take too long before we were all in bed. We were sure that Gus was asleep before he leant over to put his head on the pillow.

That had been a very long day and we were very thankful for these lodgings.